


Two Americans in London

by sazzlesj



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Best Friends, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, London, Male-Female Friendship, Mutual Pining, Philinda - Freeform, Pining, Platonic Cuddling, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29175900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sazzlesj/pseuds/sazzlesj
Summary: Melinda May is 30, living in London with her fiancé Andrew. She is happy and enjoys the life she has. She works for Shield - a well known charity based in Central London.One day, her life changes again when her childhood best friend, Phil Coulson, comes back into her life.
Relationships: Andrew Garner/Melinda May, Phil Coulson & Melinda May, Phil Coulson/Melinda May
Comments: 20
Kudos: 35





	1. Maybe one day

**Author's Note:**

> Centred around office and work life in London - so very much comes with a good dose of English-ness.

Melinda May had a good life, she had just turned 30, had a steady job working for a well-known charity, she was engaged to a very handsome man and she loved living in London – a city that she had not gotten bored of exploring in the years she had lived here. There was always something going on, a new restaurant to try, a new experience popping up or a new place to walk and explore. 

She had moved to England when she was just 19, leaving behind her life, friends, and family in search of new opportunities and experiences. Her parents had just gotton divorced, with her Dad moving to another state and her closest friends were moving away too to start college. It had been hard to leave behind her family and friends, and she tried hard for the first year or so to stay in contact with those she was closest too – phone calls, texts and social media helped here but with the time difference and the new life’s they were all living at college, university or work, naturally contact became sparser and after a few years, stopped altogether. She still thought about her oldest, and best friend a lot – but it was normal, things changed and people moved on – that’s life. 

Maybe one day they would reconnect. 

She would often think about him and what his life was like now, what he did, where he lived, was he married? Did he have kids – he’d be a great husband and father – he was caring and funny and family meant a lot to him. Would they still be close if she didn’t move half way across the world? He wasn’t active on social media – so it was all still a mystery to her.   
Maybe one day they would reconnect. Maybe one day she would try. 

Melinda originally moved to Sheffield, in England, to attend the University there – she studied for a BA (Hons) degree in Learning and Development Design – she had no real passion for a particular subject at the time but thought this course came with good employment opportunities – she enjoyed her 3 year course and graduated top of her class with a 1st Class degree. Sheffield was a fantastic city for a young student to live it, it had 2 large universities and so much of the city was geared towards this with plenty of bars, pubs, restaurants, and cafes. The City still maintained a beautiful English charm to it, stunning and historic buildings were everywhere, a welcoming and vibrant city centre and being right next to the Peak District National Park, there was so much beauty and nature right on her doorstep. She had a boyfriend on and off for 2 years, he was nice enough, but never really someone she truly connected with – but they enjoyed each other’s company at least…

She spent most of her free time in Sheffield exploring the nearby natural environment. She would go running and cycling in the hills, swim in the lakes and go scrambling on the rocks. She loved to stay fit and healthy and enjoyed doing this in the outdoors. At University she was a member of the martial arts society and would represent the University and compete for them – winning a few competitions along the way. The other students and locals seemed to like her American accent; it was rare to have an American in this part of England – but people were always nice about it – excited to talk to her – a bit of a novelty really. 

She wasn’t quite ready to leave the student life behind, and chanced her luck, applied, and was accepted onto a masters course at Cambridge University – one of the most historic and prestigious Universities in the world, and a wonderful city to live in – not bad for a girl from a small town in Wisconsin. Melinda stayed in Cambridge for a few more years after this, working at the University running a funded project. It was during this time that she met her now fiancé Andrew. He was a mutual friend of a work colleague and they would often socialise as a group together – she wouldn’t say it was love at first sight – Andrew was a gentleman who was respectful or her and her want to take things slow, but as they started spending more and more time together, they started dating and soon fell in love. 

Andrew was a wonderful man –smart, witty, a fantastic athlete and truth be told, incredibly sexy with a smile that send any girl wild. He was kind and caring and treated Melinda with so much love and adoration. He wasn’t perfect, he could be grumpy and snappy at times, but then Melinda wasn’t perfect herself. When he was offered a job as an investment banker in Central London they decided to make the move together and start a new life in the city. Andrew was from a wealthy family, and with his new (and very well paid) job he purchased a wonderful 2 bed apartment for them right in the heart of the city. Her life was now a far cry to what it was back when she was growing up – she had come a long way. 

Andrew proposed 6 months ago, and they were due to marry in May, 8 months from now. 

A few months after they moved to London, Melinda got a job working for a charity called Shield, she had been there 3 years now and really loved it. She worked in a small team of 5 and directly with volunteer trainers, designing new training courses that would be used nationally to help upskill all of the charity’s volunteers. She really liked her team and would consider them her friends and people she could eat lunch with and chat socially with at work, which was good as she didn’t really have many others in London. Most of the people she knew were through Andrew, and they would hang out as couples. Andrew worked long hours and travelled a lot in his job, so when he wasn’t around, Melinda would get a bit lonely. She wished she had a close friend to explore and have fun with. She had that once, but that felt like a lifetime ago. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Monday morning and Melinda got into the office at 8, she always liked to be in early, it gave her time to settle in and find a desk before most of the other people on her floor got in. The company policy was for people to hot desk and not sit in the same place 2 days in a row. Melinda had a few favourite places, usually at the back of the office where she could keep a low profile but also keep an eye on everyone else and she would rotate between those seats on the days she was in. She usually worked a day or 2 at home each week, she enjoyed the flexibility. 

She made herself a green tea, grabbed some cereal and settled in to go through her emails – she has around 100 in her inbox as she had been on annual leave for a week, her and Andrew had spent a few days island hopping in Greece. It was Autumn now in England and starting to get cold, so they wanted to soak up a little sun and enjoy some rest and relaxation as they were both due to be busy in the last few months of the year at work. 

Flicking slowly through her inbox, deleting those that were general company announcements (usually this would be all staff emails titled CAKE ON THE 3RD FLOOR!!!) and ones that were from company mailing lists she had signed up for, she started to make her way through the rest. Starting with the ones that seemed more information than action. These were easy, required less brain power on a Monday after a week off. She opened the one from Maria Hill, her manager, which was about their new team member. It was a pretty basic email, just saying that he would be starting 10am on Monday – quicker than expected because he’d already left his last job. This was good news for the team, they had been extra busy this last month since Ward had left. It was going to be nice to be a full team again. Shame there was no other information, nothing to google, she always enjoyed a little spying on new colleagues before they started. Damn. 

Skye, the teams assistant, was also in early. She liked Skye, she was a lot younger than the others, but a good laugh and a nice person to talk too, they would often eat lunch together. When she could, Skye would always try and sit next to Melinda or opposite her, as this made idle chit chat easier. Sometimes a day in the office needed breaking up by talking about anything random. 

“Hey Skye” – Melinda nudged the young girl gently as she engrossed in a task on her laptop. “Do you know anything about the new guy? You must have been here when they were interviewing. I completely forgot we were even interviewing last week!” 

“Yeah – he’s starting today” Skye replied simply.

“Gathered that much from the email Skye” Melinda said with a small eye roll, “anything else? you saw him – did he seem nice, young? old? I’m in training all day so I doubt ill be able to meet him today and you know me – I like to be in the loop”.

“Erm, he wasn’t young – more like your age, maybe a little older”

Melinda glared at Skye, who could only laugh. She loved being the baby of the team.

“He seemed nice enough when I greeted him for the interview, seemed happy when I signed him back out afterwards, wore trendy glasses. Maria said he was a good guy, would fit in well. Great ideas”.

“Anything else?”

“Oh yeah, actually, he sounded a bit like you – so probably American, or maybe Canadian. I dunno, all sounds the same to me”. 

“OK, OK” It wasn’t worth the argument again about the differences between Americans and Canadians…. “Just keep me updated, any observations welcome. I am going to need something to keep me from drifting during the day. Full day trainings are the worst.”

“Whose taking this one?” Skye asked. Shield had some very good trainers, but also some super unengaging, and frankly, boring ones – the trainer would totally make or break how useful the day would be.

“Sitwell” Melinda groaned, and she slumped back in her chair. “Honestly, nice guy and everything, but his monotone voice sends you to sleep at least once. Plus I have a ton of work to do, so could do without this. 

“Ha, yep. Have fun!”

Melinda carried on trying to get through as many emails as she could before 9.30 – she was a quick and efficient worker, so she did well and cleared a whole load. At 9.25 she grabbed a pen and notebook, tidied her desk a little, but left everything there as she was hoping to grab a few minutes of actual work time during her lunch break. She quickly made another tea and made her way to the lift. Today’s training was in the basement level of the building. Another thing to add to her growing list of annoyances. That room was cold and always smelt a bit fishy. Great. 

The training was going OK. She knew a few of the others down here so group conversation wasn’t too bad. Sitwell was his usual self, but she’d not drifted off yet, so she would consider this a win. It was 10 minutes until the lunch break. She sneakily grabbed her phone to see if Skye had sent any updates about the new guy. She wasn’t disappointed when she could see she had 12 new messages. Excellent. 

Melinda scrolled through the messages, laughing silently to herself as she made her way through Skyes observations. 

Skye: OK he’s here. He seems nervous – but he smiles a lot. A LOT. Wow.  
Skye: Yep, hunch was correct. He’s American. I assume that makes you automatic friends.  
Skye: His name is Phillip.   
Skye: He dresses well. Nice chinos, smart shoes and a shirt under his jumper. Good start. No excuses for men to be poorly dressed.   
Skye: Literally just moved to London, been here 2 weeks. Does not elaborate why he moved here. He likes coffee – 2 mugs already.  
Skye: OK, he needed a ‘change’. Mystery in the man – fun.  
Skye: He has a Captain America pen.  
Skye: And notebook.  
Skye: OMG. Such a dork.  
Skye: I think he’ll be getting a few of the famous Melinda May eye rolls at this rate.   
Skye: We’ve sat him opposite you today, so you might get to say hi when you come up at lunch.   
Skye: He seems nice – I think I approve of Marias choice. Hope Sitwell isn’t boring you too much. See you in a bit? 

Melinda: Ha, thanks! – I feel like I know him so well already 😉 Be up in 10! xx

She should really go for a walk on her lunch break, grab some fresh air and enjoy the fact her office was just down the road from Buckingham Palace. Walking to the Palace and around St James’s Park never got old – it was a nice perk to her office location. But there was just so much work to do, so lunch in front of her computer screen was the one for today. 

Sitting down back in her chair, she looked to see if the new guy was there, but couldn’t see him in their office space. Turning to Skye, as she undid the Tupperware lid to tuck into her chicken salad and casually asked “No new guy?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s just doing the drink rounds in the kitchen – we’ve got him well trained already!”

“Hmm-mm” she gave a small smirk back and carried on with a few more mouthfuls before looking towards the kitchen.

No.  
Absolutely not.  
Her eyes must be lying to her. 

There is absolutely no way her childhood best friend was standing in the kitchen of her office, in the middle of London, in England. Nope, nope nope. Not possible. Then she remembered the messages Skye had sent. American. Smiled a lot. Captain America. Dork. PHILLIP. It was him, it really was – Phil Coulson – her best friend. The one person from her old life she still thought about. The one person she couldn’t quite forget. The one person she’d been meaning to message for years and years. The one person, in all honestly, who could truly make her laugh. Laugh laugh. 

She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he walked towards her, his head was down and his tongue pocked out of his mouth slightly as he was concentrating on not spilling the 2 drinks he was carrying, her heart started beating faster, she was nervous – what if he didn’t remember her? 

Gulp.

What if he didn’t want to remember her.

She stared at him as he reached the edge of the desk – her mouth gaping open, fork still hanging in the air with a piece of chicken on it. Suddenly she was shocked out of her trance by the sound of Skye.

“Hey – Phil” He looked up with a smile. “This is…”

“Melinda May” he interrupted – his mouth now wide parted, eyes wide. 

“Phil…” 

They both stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Next to her Skye eyes were darting between them both trying to figure out what on earth was happening. How could these 2 know eachother.

All of a sudden, Phils face just lit up with the most wonderful smile. A huge grin reaching to his eyes. His wonderful blue eyes. You’d never forget those. She’d missed that smile. 

He gently put down the 2 mugs of hot drinks he was holding and almost ran round the desk, towards Melinda and just scooped her right off the ground into his arms. Still beaming, he hugged her tight and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Melinda giggled as she hugged him just as hard back. She could feel herself starting to get emotional. She had to pull herself together, there was no way she was crying in front of her colleagues. Even if Phil Coulson, her Phil Coulson, her best friend was currently stood with his arms wrapped tightly around her. 

They gently released each other and just stared for a few more moments, he looked so happy, she could feel herself smiling just as wide back. She was still trying to hold back the tears.

“Mel – what the heck. You’re here! Why? How? I mean – it’s you. It’s really you. I can’t believe it” he beamed. 

She raised an eyebrow slightly, huge grin replaced by a small smirk – just like he remembered. “Yeah, it is me. And it’s you. Phil – you’re here. I, erm, I, well, I just”

“Woah, woah woah, hold up” Skye interrupted with her hands waving around like a bit of a mad woman. “What is going on here? You two know eachother? How?”

“Yes, we are old friends” Melinda replied with a simple smile to Phil and then to Skye.

“Yep, Mels and I go way back – but it’s been a long time since we were last in the same place, hence the slightly over the top hug” Coulson said somewhat sheepishly, with a slightly embarred smile. 

“Mels?” Skye mouthed to Melinda with a knowing look. She received a very unimpressed look and eye roll back. Skye knew that look too well, and mimicked zipping her mouth shut with a wink. 

Melinda could feel a lot of eyes on them, and she wasn’t too keen to take a long trip down memory lane in front of everyone so she gestured for Phil to pull up a seat next to her. He nodded and wheeled round his chair, still with a big boyish grin on his face.

Melinda offered him a warm smile “Sorry, this is a lot to process still. It’s been a so long Phil, but it’s good, it’s really good to see you” 

“Really good, really, really good”

“So, how has your morning been? I hope you’re finding everything OK and the team has been welcoming”

“Really welcoming, everyone seems really friendly and have been showing me around and helping me get settled in. I have a tour of the office this afternoon and then lots of reading to do – so nothing overwhelming.”

“Good. We are a good bunch. Sorry I’ve not been around” she sighed while looking at her watch. “I’ve actually got to go again now – I am in training until the end of the day. I feel bad I can’t help on your first day.”

“Hey, it’s fine, it’s not like you knew I was going to be here. You can make up for it another day” He gave her a wink as he bumped his shoulder against hers. He was still the same dorky guy she always knew. 

“Deal! Are you free after work? Maybe we could grab a drink”

“Free as a bird actually, that sounds great Mel”

“Good” she picked up her notebook and stood up ready to head off again. “I’ll come meet you up here when I am done”

Phil smiled as she got up and made her way to the lift to head back downstairs. His head was all over the place, his life had just flipped upside down in the space of 10 minutes. His heart felt a little fuller, like it hadn’t done in years. This is good, he thought to himself. It was going to be nice to get to spend time with his favourite person again. His eyes never left her as she made her way across the room and he stayed staring at the lift until he was jolted out of his thoughts by Skye.

“Old friends, eh?” he could see the smirk on her face and glint in her eye. He knew exactly what she was thinking. She wouldn’t be the first.

He raised his eyebrow and gave her a stern, but gentle look. “Best friends actually – we were inseparable growing up, spent all our time together” He sighed “But then life happened.”

Skye gave him a nod and a smile. No need to push anymore.


	2. First day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Split between POV / background Phil and grabbing that drink after work.

Phil Coulson didn’t have the best life. Well, his life was fine – ordinary was probably the best definition, but not really the life he’d once pictured it would be when he reached 30. He was single, back living in his hometown in his parents old house that he thought he’d escaped when he was 18. He still knew people around the area but it hadn’t really changed much in all the years. He craved new experiences, people and places to explore.

He had moved to New York City to attend University there straight out of High School. He loved New York, such a vibrant city to live in, so many places to explore and he enjoyed taking his beloved red corvette Lola for a spin down the east coast when he got the chance. His missed his friends and family back in Wisconsin, especially his mum and his best friend – they were his 2 favourite people after all. Still, aeroplanes existed and he’d go back home and visit as much as he could. Towards the end of his 1st year his best friend made the bold decision to move to England – she was always brave and fearless and he was happy for her and the life journey she was going to embark on. They tried hard to stay in contact after the move, but after a few years they had drifted from each others life’s. He still thought about her a lot – but it was normal, things changed, and people moved on – that’s life.

Maybe one day they would reconnect.

He would often think about her and what she was doing. Did she still live in England? Had she moved on to explore another part of Europe? Had she moved back and just not told him. He hoped it wasn’t the latter. He wondered if she was married – she could have had any man she wanted – he hoped whoever had her heart treated her like she was the most wonderful person in the world. Would they still be close if she didn’t move halfway across the world? He had deleted all of his social media – so her life remained a mystery to him.

Maybe one day they would reconnect. Maybe one day he would try. 

Phil stayed in New York once he graduated. He contemplated moving to another state, maybe exploring the west coast, but he was lucky enough to land a decent job and enjoyed the life he had. He had made a good set of friends and had a few different girlfriends across the years. His most serious, and recent one being a musician named Audrey – they had dated for nearly 4 years and he could see himself asking her to marry him at some point, but she led a busy life and travelled a lot for work so it never felt like the time.

In the last 18 months Phils life had been flipped upside down. His Mother became seriously ill so he made the decision to find a job back home and move back to look after her. His Mom was still his most important person, and he would do anything to make sure she was cared for. Audrey understood his decision but it put a huge strain on their relationship, so after 6 months of trying to make it work they broke things off. Phil had suspected that she had also found someone else, but he never broached the subject. He’d rather not know. His Mother passed away 5 months after that – she died peacefully with Phil by her side. His world had shattered but he was thankful that he had been there for her.

They say bad things happen in threes and that was certainly the case here. He didn’t see the other car coming, he was still mourning, still emotionally drained. It all happened so quickly. The next thing he knew he’d woken up a week later, tubes everywhere and a huge scar down his chest. He’d come close to death he was told, lucky to survive really. But he did. He’d been given a chance to carry on. Recovery and rehab was slow, and so very lonely, but it did give Phil time to think and to plan. He always appreciated a good plan.

It really had been an awful year. All he had known for the last decade seemed lost, gone – he needed a fresh start. Phil made the decision his best friend had all those years ago. He’d pack up his life and move to England. Maybe he’d be less lonely there.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Monday morning, Phil had been in London for 2 weeks. The first week he’d been busy getting himself settled in his apartment and finding out a little about his new home. He’d done some scouting of local shops and restaurants and made a few trips to see some famous landmarks. He was already comfortable using the London Underground, it wasn’t too dissimilar to the New York Metro system but it did seem to work that little bit more efficiently. Plus it had a really good map. Phil did like a good map.

At the end of his first week Phil had interviewed for a job at a British charity named Shield. He’d applied while still in America as he really liked the sound of the job. Working on upskilling volunteers who could then train other volunteers who would provide activities for kids. People helping people help people – he liked the sound of it. His interview lasted a little over an hour and he was pleased with how it went. He was even more pleased about receiving the call at the end of the day to let him know that he was the best candidate and would love him to join their team. They were especially happy with how he could start so soon and jumped at the chance to get him in as soon as he all the paperwork had been completed.

Phil had managed to pick up a little about what the working environment would be like when he went in for his interview. It was an open plan office environment, set over 5 floors, he thought there was probably about 100 people who worked there. It appeared that the dress style was more office casual so he decided to put a pair of chinos, a shirt and a nice jumper on for his first day. He hoped at some point a suit and tie would be needed for important meetings or events – he did love a good suit after all. He knew a little about his new team – it was managed by a lady named Maria, who had interviewed him, who was around his age, there were 4 others, he’d met the young team assistant on the day of the interview but didn’t know anything about the other 3. 

He’d been told that he would be starting at 10am, this was a little later than he expected, but apparently it was company policy to have newcomers start later. This way it gave a chance for all of his team to be in and have things set up for his arrival. Phil always liked to be punctual so he was ready and waiting down in reception at 9.45. At 10 on the dot the young assistant from his interview appeared in reception. She smiled at him as he stood up and made his way over to her to shake her hand.

“Hey Phil, it’s good to see you again, congratulations on getting the job. I’m Skye and I will be your personal assistant for the day” she said with amusement in her voice.

“Thanks, can’t wait to get going. Personal assistant hey, I could get used to that” he grinned back.

“Ha, don’t get too comfy, it’s just for your first day to show you around, get you settled – after that you’ll have to fly solo I am afraid!”

“Damn, well I’ll just make the most of it today then. So.. show the way!” He held the door open for them both to walk through. He was a gentleman after all.

“OK, first things first, we just need to pop to into Billys office right here. He looks after the building, supplies, stationary and that kind of thing. He’ll need to print you a new lanyard – you’ll need it to get in and out of the main building and any of the meeting rooms and it also your key to using the printer! Don’t lose it though, Billy doesn’t respond well to needing to re-do a replacement!”

Once that was all sorted, Skye took him up the stairs to the first floor, where their team was based. She did a little tour of the floor showing him the kitchen, the stationary cupboard and the meeting rooms. They shared the floor with 4 other teams and there was a nice vibe to the place. Professional, yet relaxed with a nice buzz.

“We hot desk here” Skye explained “Essentially it’s first come first served for a seat, we try and switch things up a bit too and sit in different places if possible – but you do find people have preferred places to sit. We did save you a seat today though, next to Jemma and across from me and Melinda, so we can help you out – some people can spend most of the day in and out of meetings so things can look kinda empty at times, but it works. Get yourself settled, we have a team meeting in 5. Can I get you a drink?”

Phil took a seat as he nodded enthusiastically taking everything in. “A coffee would be great. Black, 1 sugar please.” He unpacked his bag and grabbed his new notebook and pen. He looked at them for a few seconds wondering if showing his new colleagues how much of a Captain America nerd he was on his first day was the best thing, but quickly decided that it was. It seemed an accepting workplace, plus, everyone has their quirks. He looked around to see a small group forming near one of the offices, Skye and Maria were there so he assumed that was where he needed to be now, he grabbed his stuff and headed over. 

Maria introduced the other members of his new team and explained what their roles were. There were Jemma and Leo (or Fitz as the others seemed to call him) they were learning designers who whose main role was to support the project managers, find solutions and make their training look good and feel right. They seemed to work as a duo and seemed really friendly. Maria then explained that there was another member of the team, Melinda, the other project manager alongside him, although they would work on separate projects and head up different trainings. She wasn’t in this meeting as she was downstairs in training all day but was hoping to pop up and say hi at lunch.

“So Phil, tell us a little about yourself.” Maria offered him a nod and a smile.

“ Not much to tell really, I'm a pretty simple guy, I’ve been in London for 2 weeks now, actually it’s my first time in England, so be easy on me – I’m not up with the British quirks yet” 

“How comes you decided to move here?” Fitz asked enquiringly.

Phil offered a small smile “Just needed a change I guess”

“Some change”

“Ha, you could say that, but it feels right already. So far, so good I guess”

The meeting carried on for another half hour. The team filed Phil in on what they did, what they were working on and what he would be doing going forward. The teams main focus over the next month or so was a large conference they were organising that 300 of their volunteer trainers would attend. It would be a weekend event, pretty full on with long days, but it was a good chance to bond as a team and really understand the job and organisation better. Apparently the evenings also allowed time for them all to unwind, share a drink or 2 together and maybe play a few games. This was the bit everyone looked forward to, and the bit that took no planning at all. Phil was looking forward to it already.

The rest of the morning was spent reading through emails Maria had sent over and getting used to some of the systems Shield used. The whole week was being used as an induction into the organisation and he had a lot of time scheduled into his calendar to in to meet people, learn about the organisation and get his head around the work. It was a relaxed start and he appreciated not being thrown into the deep end. It would also give him a lot of time to take a proper lunch break and explore the area around the office – he never found much time in his old job for a lunch break so was hopeful he could find the time here.

It was approaching lunchtime but Phil wanted to finish the document he was half way through so decided it was time for another coffee. It seemed they took tea and coffee seriously at Shield and had a whole shelf filled with different teas, fancy coffees and syrups, there was also a whiteboard that had people preferred milk and sugar combos on it, he could see Skye had added his one on there after this morning.

He walked over to the shelf and then called out to Skye. “Hey, do you want a drink? By the looks of it you have a Yorkshire tea with a dash of milk?”

“Ahh Phil, YES please” Skye sighed. “I was just going to make one, but as you so kindly offered.”

Phil picked up the tea bag and grabbed a coffee pod from the shelf and headed to the kitchen. He whistled to himself as he went through the processes not really noticing much in his surroundings. He carefully grabbed the 2 mugs and headed back to his desk, he’d filled the tea slightly too high and had to really concentrate not to spill. He could vaguely see that somebody was now sitting at the desk opposite him but didn’t notice who until Skye started to speak.

“Hey – Phil” He looked up with a smile. “This is…”

“Melinda May” he interrupted – his mouth now wide parted, eyes wide.

“Phil…”

All he could do was stare at her. He couldn’t believe his eyes. How can it be that Melinda May, his best friend, who he hadn’t even heard from in years and years was sat opposite him, working in the same building, heck his new team mate to be exact – the one person he’d hope to find again, the one person he’s missed so much from his life. He felt a warm tingly feeling in his heart – this was pure happiness. He couldn’t help himself, a huge grin grew on his face as he carefully put down the mugs he was holding and almost sprinted round the desks to pull her into a huge embrace. He was so enthusiastic he lifted her off her feet and swung her around – it felt like he was living a dream.

He gave her a big kiss on the cheek which made her giggle, just like he remembered. He’d missed that sound – he used to love making her laugh. Damn it was good to see her again.

Realising they probably made quite a scene they both grabbed a seat and chatted for a little bit. Phil was a little bit relieved when Melinda had to cut their conversation short to go back to her training. He had a feeling he’d not be able to resist just sitting and chatting the whole afternoon, and frankly that wouldn’t be the best way to start a new job. They agreed to grab a drink after work which was good – it would give both of them a chance to process what was happening. Phil could only stare as she got up and left, Skye probably thought that was a bit creepy but he quickly explained their history and how insane this all was.

He needed to go and get some fresh air and find a place to enjoy his lunch to try and process what had just happened. Before he did, he had an idea, it was a little silly and he hoped Melinda wouldn’t mind and that this was the type of work place where not every email sent had to have a professional side to it… plus as he didn’t have her number this was the only way to contact her. He quickly composed the email, pressed send and headed off to lunch.

Melinda had found it pretty hard to concentrate during the afternoon of the training. Sure, having Sitwell rambling on about something she already knew wasn’t helping, but the real reason was that she couldn’t stop thinking about Phil Coulson. How he’d just appeared back into her life and swept her (literally) off her feet. He had hugged her just like he used to when they were teenagers – although this time he’d clearly filled out a little more and his strong arms were a welcome surprise.

 _‘OK, concentrate’_ – Melinda thought to herself – Sitwell had announced a quick refreshment and comfort break before they went into the last hour of the training, she popped to the kitchen to grab another tea and then checked her emails on her phone, just to see if anything urgent appeared. There was an email from Phil. That would classify as urgent right? She opened it up and couldn’t help laughing to herself as she walked back to her seat. Phil had sent a picture of a whale jumping out of the water with it’s flipper off to the side looking like it was waving to her with the caption WHALE HELLO THERE and a small message.

_Mel, How amazing is this? Enjoy your training, see you in a bit. Phil xxx_

She couldn’t help the warm glow that filled her face as she sat back down – all these years later he could still make her smile so easily – she had her friend back and it already felt so normal. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Phil, go grab us a table and I’ll go pick out some drinks, they do the most amazing pastries here and I’ll grab us a slice of my favourite we can share” Melinda said as they walked into a small Danish coffee shop down the road from their office.

Phil grabbed a seat in the corner, it looked cosy with soft chairs and large pillows, Melinda made her way over to him with and placed their drinks and pastry into the middle of the table.

“Hey, you remembered.” Phil said smiling at his drink.

“Mmm hmm, Americano, 1 sugar” she smiled. “So this is called a cinnamon slice, it’s like a cinnamon roll but has icing and chocolate inside it. It’s to die for – the Danes know how to do pastries. It’s certainly better to share” she said while cutting it in half. “Metabolism isn’t what it was when I was 18.

Phil scoffed “Maybe, but you look good Mel – really good”

“Thanks, you do too you know. 30 looks good on you”

“Yeah, I work out” he replied giving her a wink. Melinda couldn’t help but notice the confidence he had. It was nice, the Phil she remembered was always a bit shy, but he suited this, he looked happy with who he was.

She looked down at her mug and slowly moved her fingers around the rim. Phil knew this is what she used to do when she was nervous, it was nice she hadn’t changed too much in all the years. She looked up to him with the sweetest smile “It really is good to see you Phil, I’m so sorry we lost contact, I never meant to, I guess…”

He interrupted her by reaching across the table and grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. “Mel, don’t, I’m just as at fault. Life happens and then all of a sudden the time just ticks on. I don’t think either of us meant for it to happen, but hey – life also has a way of bringing you back what you miss. We’re here now, that’s what matters.”

“You’re still a bit of a sap, I see” she said with a smirk and an eye role. He’d missed her teasing.

“Oh yeah, still a nerd as well you’ll be pleased to know”

“I hear, Skye said the first thing you did was rock your Captain America merch out.”

“People dig that stuff these days you know, news will soon get round the office and I’ll have a queue of girls after a bit of the action”

“Phil Coulson the ladies man, Remember any girl still has to pass my approval test”

Phil let out a chuckle, “Always protecting me, Mel”

“Only the best for you – you know that.” They both laughed. It was good to laugh again together.

“This is really good pastry, I think I’ll be back here again” Phil muttered as he shoved another bit in his mouth and licked his lips.

“Told you, I’ve always had good eye for sweet stuff”

“That you have, so.. tell me about him.”

Melinda’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him confused. “Huh. Who?”

“You know, that rather large diamond ring on your finger is kinda hard to miss”

“Oh” she blushed and looked down at her tea again. “His name is Andrew, we met 4 years ago when I was living in Oxford, we moved here when he got a new job in the city. We’ve been engaged for 6 months and are due to marry in May. He’s a wonderful man, smart, kind, caring, funny. He makes me feel safe and special, I’m lucky I found him. You’d like him, I think you would get on well.”

Phil could see the love in her eyes as she spoke about her fiancé. It was nice to see her so happy.

He gave her a sincere smile “That’s great Mel, I’m so happy for you, you deserve a man like that. I assume he is also tall, dark and incredibly handsome”

“Damn straight. I’ve not changed that much” she laughed “So come on, how on earth did you end up here?”

Phil took a gulp of his coffee, not sure he was really quite ready to talk about everything. “I just needed a new start I guess” Melinda gave him a gentle smile, he could tell she wanted him to carry on. “The last year has been tough” he took another sip. “I’m not sure I’m ready to go into details just yet, but it just felt right, making the move. I guess deep down I was always inspired by you, you were always the brave one and this felt like something I needed to do.”

Melinda could tell he wasn’t ready to go into any more details, she gave his hand a little squeeze and nodded her head. There would be a time for that. Instead she moved the conversation on, they spent the next couple of hours chatting away just like they used to. They spoke about his day and about the team. Melinda was able to give a lot of insight into everyone and how they liked to work and what the new job would look like. They both briefly touched upon their time in Sheffield and New York. They spoke in some detail about London, all the places Phil wanted to see and all the places Melinda knew he’d love. They made plans for where they could walk to on their lunch breaks and the places they could visit together when they were both free. It really was like old times. Before they knew it time had really run away from them.

Melinda took out her phone and saw a number of messages from Andrew asking where she was and when she’d be home. In all the excitement she’d forgot to message him. “Damn” she whispered as she sent off a message to say she’d be home soon. “Phil, we best be calling it a night, Andrew is preparing dinner and I guess you need to eat too”

“Gosh, time does fly when you’re having fun. I assume you’re hopping on the tube too? I need the Victoria line”

“Jubilee for me, but we can still walk there together”

They packed up their things and headed to the nearest underground station. They exchanged numbers on the way, for personal use and Phil needed to be added to the work group chat. When they reached the station it was time to go their separate ways. It seemed silly to be sad, as they would see each other at work tomorrow but it had been an emotional day and a lot to take in. They gave each other a big hug, Melinda lent her cheek against his chest and Phil rubbed his hands up and down her back – they stayed that way for a minute or so. It felt good to be back together again. Melinda slowly looked up, gave his cheek a kiss and moved away. They smiled softly at each other.

“I’m really glad you’re here. See you tomorrow Phil”

“Me too Mel, me too. Text me when you get home yeah. Just so I know your safe”

She scoffed “I’ll be fine, you’re the newbie here. Don’t get lost” she winked as she headed off towards her line.

He smiled to himself as he went his own way. Yeah, he was very happy he made this move. He had a good feeling this was going to work.

After he arrived home he waited around before starting dinner until he heard from Melinda. He was just being a concerned friend, nothing more. It was quite late and London wasn’t always the safest place. He didn’t have to wait long until he heard his phone buzz.

Mel: Home, you can stop worrying. You always were a mother hen ;) xx

Phil : Hey, just being a good friend. Glad you’re home safe (even though I know you’re a badass that can handle yourself!) You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t get lost xx

Mel: Glad you remembered I could still kick your ass xx

Phil: How could I forget ;) See you in the morning xx

They both went to sleep that night with happy hearts. They had their best friend back.


	3. Fancy a snog?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phils first week at Shield comes to an end. He and Melinda hang out again at the weekend. 
> 
> Lots of fluff and good times. Hints of something more, maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A need to know for this chapter - A snog is a form of long / passionate kiss. It's a pretty common term in the UK

It was Friday lunchtime, Phil’s first week at Shield had gone well. He felt like he was settling in and had been given a lot of time to get to know his new job, as well as his new colleagues before anything major came his way. They were a close-knit team who worked incredibly hard and clearly enjoyed each other’s company and coming into work each day. Phil had never worked in this kind of dynamic before and he was enjoying every minute of it. He was already getting on well with everyone, everyone seemed to like him which was a bonus. He was friendly, approachable, and already very capable at his job. He had tons of ideas and had picked things up quickly.

Maria, the team manager, was incredibly sharp, passionate and led by example. He had been in a number of meetings with her this week, discussing upcoming work and future projects and they seemed to be on the same wavelength. She trusted his judgement already and he was excited to be reporting into someone so capable. She also clearly had the ear of the CEO, Nick Fury, which meant her team was always supported and well resourced.

Fitz and Jemma were so imaginative, had so many ideas and were already keen to start getting into details with him on his upcoming projects. They were clearly very switched on and solution focused and had brains far bigger than the rest of the team. Phil thought that their talents were a little wasted in their current roles, but knew they had bright futures ahead of them, and they really did have a passion to help people.

Skye has been a real help, she was an absolute whizz with the computer and had set Phil up with everything he needed and has taken the time to explain it and train him on some of the unique systems they used. She also had a wicked sense of humour and took great pleasure in being the little sister of the team who liked to tease and wind up the rest of them.

And Melinda, well Melinda had just been such a big help and barely left his side. They sat together almost every day, she was very patient, explaining what was expected from them in their roles, how they could work together on some projects and gave great insight in what it was like to work closely with so many volunteers. Phil had noticed that Melinda still hated talking to other people and would avoid answering the phone at all costs, in fact he was certain she only pretended to log in each day and made Skye answer any questions that came in about her work. He made a mental note of this as potential ammo for later on. It was always fun winding her up. They had laughed and joked and really had started to build their relationship again. Phil could see that she had a strong friendship with Skye and seemed very protective and caring of the young girl. Apparently, she’d had a tough upbringing and Melinda always wanted to make sure she felt safe, that she felt wanted.

Phil and Melinda had managed to spend their lunch hours going for walks around the area surrounding their office. They were just down the road from Buckingham Palace and around 20 minutes from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Today Melinda wanted to take Phil for a walk down the Mall and up towards Horse Guards Parade. They slowly made their way up the historic walk dodging the many tourists and bikes that packed the streets.

“So, any plans for the weekend?” Phil asked as he offered Melinda one of his crisps.

“I’ve got a hot date with my sofa and PJs” she sighed. “Andrew has been in New York since Tuesday and doesn’t get back till Monday night.”

Phil looked at her and could see sadness in her eyes, he didn’t like the idea of her being alone and bored all weekend.

“We could hang out if you want? Unless you’re sick of the sight of me already”

“This week has been pretty exhausting, watching your back again after all these years. I might just need the weekend to recover”

“No worries, another time maybe” he quickly replied looking dejectedly at the floor, missing her turn and give him a big grin.

Noticing his reaction, she quickly bumped his shoulder with her own getting him to look back at her. “Phil, I was joking. I’d love to hang out with you.”

His face lit up as she said it. “Excellent, I’ve got a couple of ideas already but happy to just go with the flow and explore some more, whatever you want.”

Melinda let him spend the next 20 minutes getting exciting and rambling away almost bouncing down the Mall planning their weekend. It would make a nice change spending time with one of her friends rather than sitting home alone. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had agreed to meet at Phil’s apartment for an early morning breakfast before they set out so they could finalise their plans. Phil had popped to the shops the night before to pick up the tea she drank in the office, he didn’t think the weekend would start well if all he could provide her with was a coffee. He’d also picked up some fruits and yogurts too for them to tuck into. He’d just finished making the drinks when Melinda knocked on the door. He opened it up to a beaming Melinda May holding up a paper bag which clearly contained some kind of cake.

“I picked us up another cinnamon slice to share. It would be rude not to start the day right”

Phil gestured for her to come in a grab a seat. “You’re my hero Melinda May, how did I ever survive all these years without you”

They shared a laugh and settled down on the sofa to dig into their pastry and drinks.

“OK, so” Phil began as he got up and started to pace around his living room. Melinda raised her brow at him in confusion, he looked nervous. “I found something last night that I thought it would be super cool for us to do. It’s in Covent Garden, and there is a museum there, and there is an exhibition, and it’s only running until this weekend, and it has really good reviews and…”

“Phil” Melinda deadpanned “Out with it already.”

He took a deep breath and stopped walking and sat on the coffee table in front of her. “There is a Captain America comic book exhibition at the Museum of Pop Culture” There he said it.

“No.”

“MELINNDAAA” he moaned.

“No.” Honestly, she really didn’t mind the idea, but was enjoying seeing Phil plead with her.

“MEEELLL” He was now in front of her on his knees, grabbing at her hands, pleading with her with ridiculous puppy dog eyes. “Pleaaase. It looks so cool. I promise you’ll have fun.”

“And I’ll cook you dinner tonight.” She did love his cooking. He used to cook all the time when they were younger.

“And we can watch your favourite movie”

“And I’ll buy your favourite ice cream”

Melinda’s lips curved up into a slight smirk. “And some sprinkles?”

“And sprinkles” he grinned back. The next thing she knew he’d jumped to his feet, pulling her with him and he wrapped his arms around her giving her an exaggerated kiss to the cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were currently on their second loop round. The Captain America exhibition wasn’t THAT bad, although she wouldn’t be admitting that out loud anytime soon. Truth be told, ever since moving to England she’d always been subconsciously drawn to that silly comic book character, she’d seen all the films, she’d notice his logo on merchandise in a shop, or be drawn to pick up a comic if she saw it and she’d even purchased few bits from car boot sales and charity shops that she thought looked retro and maybe worth something. She was never quite sure why, but as she watched her best friend almost skip around the exhibition like a kid in a candy store maybe all along it has been this little symbol that has kept a part of him with her and kept hope alive that she’d see her friend again. Maybe it was also why they had been reunited working for a charity with the name Shield.

Melinda couldn’t help but smile as Phil so eagerly talked her through everything in the exhibition, he’d grab her hand and drag her between different areas and they would stand side by side usually with Phils arm resting on her shoulder as he would read the accompanying text displays. They would laugh and joke together and make sarcastic comments about the cheesiness of everything. He was so passionate and knowledgeable telling her about everything in front of them and had a huge smile on his face the whole way around. She remembered his words about it being tough year for him and it was really nice to see him relaxed and smiling. She still didn’t know exactly what had happened but she was happy to be there helping him move on and settle into a new chapter of his life.

As they came to the end of exhibition (again), Melinda found herself again being dragged by an excited Phil as he continued to bounce up and down like a child as he’d found the gift shop. There was a nice selection of figurines, toys, comic books, posters, stationary, and DVDs to select from but Phil immediately headed to the costume and shield section. There were a selection of costumes you could try on and purchase as well as a few that were behind glass and clearly important for some reason. Melinda had to roll her eyes as Phil squealed with excitement over the detail on the ones in the glass containers. He insisted he tried on a few of the costumes and made her take photos of him in them on her phone.

“Such a dork Coulson” she muttered as she took the 5th photo of him dressed up posing with a very detailed replica Cap Shield.

“Oh but Miss May, you love the dorkiness. Come here” He winked and signalled for her to stand beside him, he took his phone from his pocket, turned on the front camera and threw his arm around her shoulders. “Smile Mel, we need a good shot of us to remember the best part of the weekend.” She simply raised an eyebrow in the direction of the camera. Never one to be undeterred Phil raised his hand to tickle behind her ear, she let out a squeal of laughter and he caught a perfect photo of them looking very happy. Melinda had to admit it was a great shot, as she got Phil to send her over a copy immediately.

It was a memory she would treasure.

She had to admit, she was surprised at just how quickly her and Phil had settled back into such a comfortable relationship. A decade has passed in their lives and yet it seemed like no time had passed at all as they so easily slipped back into the comfort their friendship always brought. They were both aware of just how much of the others lives they had missed, how much there was still to share but here they were, walking around central London, not a care in the world, laughing, chatting it up so free and easy. Truth be told they had been pretty inseparable for the whole week, she had taken control of his work induction, spending as much time helping him as she could. She can’t remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much or smiled and laughed as much as she had done with Phil. Today was just a continuation of this and right now there was no place she’d rather be and nothing she’d rather be doing than reconnecting and helping her friend settle into his new life. Was that a problem? Should this be how someone with a fiancé should feel? Should she really admit to herself that she’d been having more fun and felt more like herself with Phil than she had been feeling recently with Andrew. Other people had close friendships and fiancés, husbands, families, right? Perfectly normal. That’s what friends are for, aren’t they? Friends can often bring out different sides to you and they should always make you happy, make you laugh, make you smile. It was perfectly normal. Wasn’t it?

With Andrew away it had been so easy to give so much of her attention to Phil, she did start to wonder how it would be in normal times. Would Andrew mind her spending time with Phil? Would Phil be happy to be a 3rd wheel with a couple? She was sprung out of her musings by the feeling of someone tapping her on the shoulder, then a hand waving in front of her face.

“Earth to Melinda?”

“Huh?”

“Penny for your thoughts? You seemed lost in your own head there.” _Something like that_ , she thought to herself.

“I’m hungry, we should eat” Yes food was a good idea, food is what they needed. It had been a while since breakfast and they’d done a lot of walking and with all the talking and fun they had been having, they had not realised the time. They had missed lunch, so it was probably best to get a snack or something to keep them going until dinner.

It turns out they had almost walked round in a circle and were now fairly close to Covent Garden again, Melinda knew of a lovely little café in that area that she had been in before so they decided to head in that direction. She couldn’t quite remember exactly where the café was, so as they got a little bit closer to where she thought it was, she stopped and pulled out her phone to check her map app to see how close they were. Suddenly she felt a hand on her hip and warm breath beside her ear.

“Fancy a SNOG?” Phil whispered into her ear in a seductive tone.

Melinda quickly jumped backwards and just looked at him with a frown of confusion on her face. _What did he just say?_

He was just stood there with a huge grin on his face, his eyes flicked up to the stop behind her as he started to walk towards her laughing. She turned around and looked at the shop and rolled her eyes when she saw the name of it.

_SNOG: Frozen Yogurt._

“Funny man” she deadpanned at him but then couldn’t resist a small smile and shake of the head as he continued to laugh at her reaction. He always did know the best ways to catch her off guard.

They had a look at the menu and agreed it did look nice. It was simple enough, there was a choice of flavours of frozen yogurt and a toppings bar filled with fruits, chocolates and sweets. They joined the queue in the shop and Melinda turned to Phil, raising her right eyebrow at him.

“So, do you want a little SNOG or should we share a big SNOG between us?” Two could play that game.

He let out a small huff of a giggle and then just as he had outside he leaned in close to her ear and whispered “I want to go all in for a big one” she rolled her eyes and elbowed him slightly in the tummy letting out a small giggle of her own. At that, they had reached the counter and she turned, smiled at the shop assistant and put in their order.

“1 Big SNOG please” She looked at him, then back to the assistant, raising 2 fingers. “and 2 spoons”

“Spoil sport” he grumbled under his breath.

They wandered around Covent Garden for a while, enjoying their food and the entertainment that lined the streets. There were some really good acts out today which drew in quite a crowd and it gave the area a really great atmosphere – the sun was shining and it was a beautiful autumnal afternoon which helped too. Melinda used the time to show Phil a few of the cafes she wanted them to visit and they made a note to come back another time. They grabbed some drinks from one of the many coffee shops and decided it was about time to start making their way back to Phil’s. After all, he had a dinner to cook them and they needed to pop to the shop for ingredients and ice cream. The trip back to Phils place was going to take around 30 minutes via the tube, with the last 20 minutes being above ground, this gave Melinda the time to ring Andrew and find out how he was and what he was getting up to this weekend in New York. She was glad to have this time to talk with Andrew, she was missing him a lot but knew it was only a couple more days until he would be back, Phil was happy to sit on his phone for a while she called. She was glad this time allowed for this as she was keen not ring while she was at Phil’s later.

Phil was busy preparing dinner for the both of them, he’d decided to splurge a little and make them some steak with potatoes and vegetables accompanied by some beautiful South African red wine. He loved cooking, so he was more than happy to give Melinda a bit of time to relax – plus judging by some of the conversations they had been having this week, he didn’t particularly trust her in the kitchen. He looked over at the woman slouching comfortably on his sofa. Woman, because that is what she was now. Gone was the innocent, bright eyed teenager who dropped her whole life to go in search of new adventures, here now was a strong, fearless, kind, supportive and frankly beautiful woman who he was fortunate enough to get to know all over again. She was clearly settled, comfortable and happy with the life she had built over the years. Physically she seemed in her prime and mentally extremely at ease with who she was. He was extraordinarily grateful that she has welcomed him back into her life so freely, that she wanted to spend her time with him, that she wanted to offer support, friendship, and something solid to a man who’d had his whole life turned upside down and had pretty much started again. It had been such a wonderful day. Well, it had been such a wonderful week if he was being completely honest. The best thing about it – he’d got his best friend back.

Melinda could see Phil gazing in her direction and offered him a small smile as she got up and joined him in the kitchen. She insisted that she helped in some way so he reluctantly agreed she could set up the table and pour them some more wine while he finished up. It didn’t take long for them to both finish their tasks before settling down to enjoy the meal. They must have been sat at Phils table for a good hour and a half, enjoying their meal, opening another bottle of wine, laughing, and sharing stories about horrible dates they had both been on over the years.

Melinda was literally crying with laugher as Phil recounted a date he’d been on in college that didn’t even get as far as ordering drinks. “And then to add to the awkward silence we were experiencing, when we went to sit down, I pulled out her chair for her like the gentleman I am, however she didn’t realise and went flying backwards, missing the chair and landing flat on the floor. I laughed Mel, I literally laughed out loud. She was so angry, leapt to her feet, slapped me round the face and stormed off. Never saw that one again.”

“Phil, stop, stop. I can’t – only you could have done that. I tell you what, after these stories it’s a good job you’re a damn good chef.”

“I know right, need something going for me hey” he grinned back at her. “Anyway, we’d better crack on, we’ve got pudding to eat and a film to watch before you head home. I’ll sort the ice cream while you find whatever you want to watch – I’ve got a ton of streaming services so go nuts.”

Melinda was tempted to put her favourite film on but didn’t think it would be one Phil would enjoy, so she decided to try one that she’d not seen before and thought looked good. “You ever seen inception?” she called out to him as he dished up. Phil confirmed that he hadn’t and they both decided it was worth a go. Phil brought over the ice cream and put it on the table in front of them and then headed to his bedroom to bring out some blankets. He’d invested in a lovely corner sofa when he moved in and this was perfect for 2 people to stretch out on. Instinctively Melinda grabbed a pillow and positioned it against Phil’s side so she could lie her head against it and stretch her legs out. This was how they would always watch films when they were younger. Phil and her had always been comfortable with physical contact around eachother. He was a hugger and would always fling his arm around her or bring her close for a hug when he felt like it. She’d noticed he’d not changed much in the last week and they had already shared many a hug. Maybe she should care more about why this made her happy, but right now was not the time for that. She couldn’t see but this little action made Phil smile to himself as he gently lent forward to grab their ice cream keeping his body strong so the pillow didn’t move.

About an hour in Phil glanced at Melinda to see she was fast asleep, he took the bowl that was resting on her lap and pulled her blanket up a little bit so she was warm. Again, somewhat instinctively he learnt his arm on the top of his couch and gently curled Melinda’s hair around his fingers, he knew this always kept her relaxed and he’d be lying if he didn’t enjoy the softness of his hair. He used to tug her closer to snuggle against his side but he thought that might not the best thing to do now they were in their 30s and she was engaged. This action clearly relaxed him too as he was soon fast asleep beside her. It had been a long day.

Phil woke abruptly a little bit dazed to realise he’d been asleep for so long the film had finished and the TV had entered standby mode. He grabbed his phone to find out the time only to see it was 12.17am. _Damn_ he thought to himself, he had been asleep for a couple of hours. He looked down to see Melinda still fast asleep.

“Mel, Mel” he whispered gently as he put his hand on her arm. She flinched and slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

“Looks like I dozed off – what’s the time?” yawning and stretching as she said it.

“You weren’t the only one – I did the same. It’s 12.20”

“Shoot, I best get back, the tube stops running at 1.

“Mel, there’s no way I’m letting you leave at this time of night. You can crash here”

She rolled her eyes and stood up. “Phil, I’m not a child, it will be fine.”

“Yes I know, but you’re going stay here. It’s too late for an argument.”

“Its much easier to just head home, I’ve got nothing to sleep in or wear tomorrow anyway.”

Phil just laughed at her and shook his head. “Ill grab you some of my spare pyjamas, and just chuck anything you need into the washing machine, it can wash while we sleep and dry in the morning. You can just wear your jeans and borrow a hoody or something from me. It’s fine Mel – you’re staying.”

She went to argue again but he just turned round and disappeared into his bedroom, a couple of minutes later he came out with a t-shirt and some flannel bottoms to give her. He ignored the look she gave him as she saw the Captain America logo on the t-shirt. He then started putting a bedsheet on his sofa and threw a couple of pillows there and started arranging the blankets they had used. “Ive got a spare room but not managed to buy a bed for it yet, so I’ll just crash here and you take the bed.” He smiled at her.

“If I’m going to stay here, I insist on the sofa. I’m not taking your bed from you. Plus it’s super comfortable and I’ve already fell asleep once on it. I’m more flexible than you anyway old man, wouldn’t want you waking up with a sore back.”

“Fine” he replied, it was too late to bicker over the sofa. “But I’m only 5 months older than you thank you very much” they both laughed and then started to prepare themselves for bed, Phil found a spare toothbrush in his cupboard and let Melinda use the bathroom and get ready first. Once he was done he headed into the lounge to wish her goodnight only to find she was already fast asleep. He wondered over to leave a small kiss on her forehead.

“Night Mels, sleep well. Thank you for a wonderful day” he said as he turned off the light. As he was heading into his room he smiled as he heard the small murmur of his friend.

“Sleep well Phil.”

And sleep well he would. 3 weeks ago, he couldn’t have imaged how quickly London would start to feel like home, but having spent the week reconnecting with his best friend, he couldn’t picture his life anywhere else.


	4. Happy birthday Mel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melinda has a birthday. Phil is a sweatheart
> 
> Lot's of Philinda fluff with a bit of Philindaisy thrown in for good measure.

**From** : Maria.Hill@Shield.org.uk 

**To** : [Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk), [Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk), [Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk), [Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk)

 **Subject** : Confidential

Hi Team,

A certain Miss May has a birthday in just over a week. Anyone have any ideas?

Phil – When it’s someone’s birthday in the team, we all usually chip in some money (anything between £5-£10) and buy a card and a joint present. Someone usually volunteers to bake a cake too. We then have a little ‘meeting’ where we give the gifts, eat the cake and have tea/coffee together.

Depending on availability we all usually go out for drinks after work. No pressure to join in but let me know if you want too.

M.

**From** : [Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk)

 **To** : [Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk), [Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk), [Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk,](mailto:Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk,Maria) [Maria.Hill@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Maria.Hill@Shield.org.uk)

 **Subject** : RE: Confidential

Ahh. May is always the hardest to buy for. Can never gauge by her reaction whether she likes it or not.

After my disaster with Fitz cake, I won’t be volunteering for that again! I can sort out the meeting and drinks part though. I’ll put something in everyone’s calendar.

Skye.

**From** : [Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk)

 **To** : [Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk), [Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk), [Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk,](mailto:Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk,Maria) [Maria.Hill@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Maria.Hill@Shield.org.uk)

 **Subject** : RE: RE: Confidential

Hi Team,

Happy to join in the fun. I actually have a few ideas, if you’re happy to send me over some money, I can sort it all out. £8 each should do the job.

I also make a mean chocolate cake, Mels used to love it – so I can do that.

Cheers,

Phil.

**From** : Maria.Hill@Shield.org.uk

 **To** : [Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Skye.Johnson@Shield.org.uk), [Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Leo.Fitz@Shield.org.uk), [Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Phil.Coulson@Shield.org.uk), [Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk](mailto:Jemma.Simmons@Shield.org.uk)

 **Subject** : RE:RE:RE: Confidential

I knew it was the right decision to give you a job! Sounds a plan, shout if you need anything. Looking forward to this cake already – we have high standards here – no pressure!

M.

Melinda’s birthday had been on Phil’s mind for the last few days, so it was somewhat of a relief to receive Marias email. He’d had a few ideas that he just knew Melinda would love but was debating whether birthday presents were something they would do now they were both in their 30s. But this was good. This way he can still give her the presents he wanted to without having to worry about what it meant. He might even sneak in his own card and chocolates though. She was his best friend after all.

Melinda returned to her seat after her latest meeting. She had a meeting filled day so he’d barely gotton the chance to see her and it was already mid-afternoon.

“Hey Mels – you alright?” His smile was warm as she looked stressed. She let out a large sigh.

“Hey” she replied and offered him a warm smile. “Long day, that’s all. Too many meetings, too much work and too little hours in the day.”

“You’ve got a few days off soon though right? You and Andrew heading away for your birthday?”

“Ahh so you’ve had the gift and cake email then?” she laughed as she started to go through her own emails.

“Woah, I can remember your birthday without an email you know” he held his hand to his chest in mock outrage.

“I know, I know. Andrew usually treats me to a long weekend away somewhere in Europe – it’s always a surprise, it’s nice.” She shrugged.

“Sweet deal you got there” he said as he bumped her shoulder.

“He has his uses” she winked back.

“Right” Melinda says as she rises to her feet. “Drink time, who wants one?” Phil, Jemma, Fitz and Skye all raised their hand eagerly. Melinda always got the drink order spot on, so her team always took her up on the offer.

“So” Skye turned to Phil. “Tell us your ideas for her birthday gift then.”

“Yeah, we are glad you offered, May isn’t the easiest to buy for, she’s always been a private person and doesn’t let us into too much.” Jemma added.

“I was thinking a few boxes of her favourite tea and then a couple of tickets for that ice skating rink at Winter Wonderland.”

“Ice skating?” Fitz face was lined with confusion. Jemma and Skye had similar expressions.

“You really think she’d want to go ice skating?” Jemma added.

“She loves ice skating. She was a national youth champion back home. She was pretty obsessed, has she never talked to you about it?”

“May was an ice skating champion? Wow. That’s pretty amazing” Skye said

Phil smiled at that; he had a soft expression as he did. “Yeah, she’s pretty incredible really.”

The others could not tell if he was still talking about just the ice skating.

Fitz and Jemma went back to their work while Skye didn’t move, still contemplating the idea that Melinda May was an ice skater. She turned again to Phil - “I’ve never actually been ice skating before”

“You should speak to Mel, I am sure she would go with you.”

“Oh no – I wouldn’t want to bother her.”

“Up to you, but she’s a pretty good teacher, she managed to get me out on the ice a few times back in the day. I wasn’t great – I think that must have been where she learnt patience!” Phil said shaking his head.

Skye laughed at that. Maybe some time she will ask May to take her. If she ever built up the courage. May was a good friend, but she was still slightly intimidated by her.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She rolled her eyes as she walked into the office, Phil Coulson was sat on the row at the back of the floor with a huge grin on his face. He had clearly gotton in extra early to decorate a desk for her birthday. He had a banner over her computer screen, little confetti ‘ _Happy Birthday’_ items covering the desk, bunting on the wall and 2 large helium balloons. One with ‘ _Happy Birthday’_ on it and the other with ‘ _Birthday Girl’_. It was massively over the top, cheesy and so very very Phil. Although she wouldn’t admit it to his face, it was a really sweet thing for him to do. She couldn’t help but smile at his boyish grin. He was always kind of cute when he looked like that.

Friends often found friends to be cute, right? That was normal. Yep, totally normal.

“Balloons? Really Phil” she shook her head as she approached her desk.

“You love them.”

“Do not”

“Lil bit?”

“Lil bit”

He stood up and gave her a big hug, slightly lifting her off the floor. “Happy birthday Mel’s” he then gave her a sheepish grin as he reached down and picked up the card and gift from his desk. He gave her another wide smile as he held them out for her to take. She could tell he was excited as he rocked back and forward on the balls on his feet.

“Phil – you shouldn’t have. We always do team gifts”

“I know but I wanted to still give you something that was just from me.”

There he was being all cute and sweet again. A cute, sweet (and very dorky) friend. She opened the gift to find a box of her most favourite chocolates – they were luxury ones from a proper chocolaterie. She had no idea how Phil managed to get a box, she was sure they were just a small shop in their local town back home. 

She looked up at him with slight confusion. “Where did you get these?”

He shrugged. “They have opened a shop in Soho. I popped down after work yesterday.”

Melinda gave Phil another hug and a beaming smile. That man was always so kind and thoughtful and the fact he even remembered her favourite chocolates to look and see if he could find them amazed her. “Thanks Phil, you’re the best.” He nodded in return and rubbed her shoulder and then offered to go and make her a tea as she settled down on her desk and opened the card he’d given her.

It came with a badge, and a message saying she had to wear it. She glared at him as he smirked at her from the kitchen. She was going to kill him.

The next few hours passed and Melinda found herself on the receiving end of many birthday well wishes from her colleagues. She was usually one to keep herself to herself on her birthday, not wanting the attention but thanks to Phil’s elaborate display, she couldn’t hide it this year and instead had a steady stream of visitors. It was actually a nice experience, most of her colleagues were very pleasant people and it was nice to have a conversation with some of them away from meetings. She did have to laugh to herself a few times when she could see people looking confused in her direction at her badge and balloons before shaking that off and coming over for a chat. She’d spoken to more people today than she had done in years. And truth be told, she didn’t hate it. Phil had always been the more approachable and likeable of the 2 of them, and today she had got a little insight into his world, and it really wasn’t _that_ bad.

At 2pm the team headed into one of the bigger meeting rooms at Shield. It was always tradition for a team to celebrate a birthday this way. Fitz and Jemma made everyone a hot drink, while Maria and Skye grabbed a few bowls and plates and put a few snacky items in the bowls such as crisps, jelly babies, strawberries and grapes. Melinda noticed that Phil hadn’t arrived yet as the team settled down around the table engaging in normal chit chat. She didn’t have to wait long for him to appear – always one for dramatics he burst through the door with large chocolate cake, candles and singing Happy Birthday. Everyone in the team thought this was fantastic and joined in very loudly laughing at the scowl she was giving her best friend for continuing to embarrass her. He paid no attention to her glare and put the cake in front of her with a smug look on his face. She shook her head and blew the candles out gaining a big cheer from the rest of the team.

She looked at Phil. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Mmmhmm. Your favourite” he grinned back.

Melinda let out a sigh. “Maybe I can forgive the dramatics then” she looked at the rest of the team “Phil makes the best chocolate fudge cake. Honestly, it’s to die for.”

10 minutes and 6 empty plates later the whole team was in complete agreement. Phil Coulson did in fact make the best chocolate fudge cake any of them had ever tasted. They started to debate how to divvy up the rest of the case but were quickly stopped on this trail of thought by Melinda insisting as the birthday girl that the rest of the cake went home with her. The rest of the team pouted at her but did not want to argue that decision.

“Right” Skye began “Thanks Coulson for the incredible cake but it’s present time now.” She reached into her bag to pull out a wrapped box and an envelope and handed them both to Melinda. “Happy Birthday Melinda” she said with a smile, the others in the room echoed this.

Melinda took the gifts and started to unwrap the box first. Her face pulled into a small, genuine smile as she uncovered a couple of boxes tea. “It’s my favourite tea” she said softly to herself before looking up at everyone. “Thank you – this is a lovely gift.” Her team beamed huge smiles back at her. They could tell she was genuinely happy with the gift.

“There is something in the card too” Maria added. “We hope you are free.”

Melinda gentle opened the card which was filled with lovely messages from not just her team but others in the office, she would read those later. A piece of paper fell out from the card and she opened it with an inquisitive look.

“Ice-skating?” she looked at the team with questioning eyes.

“Yeah” Maria replied. “We got 2 tickets for you and Andrew to go together. We knew you’d be busy tonight and then away for the weekend together, so we went for tomorrow night. Hopefully that works.” She offered Melinda a warm smile.

“It’s perfect, thank you everyone.” She went round and offered each member of the team a hug before they all headed out the room. She was well aware that those gifts had Phil Coulson’s name written all over them and she wanted to thank him personally but thought that could wait until they were out for a drink later. Unfortunately, she would only have time for a quick drink tonight as she had dinner plans with Andrew, but it was a birthday tradition and she didn’t want to miss out.

5pm rolled around quickly and they were all keen to head across the street to a lovely little pub they often visited. Phil has never really been in such a quaint English pub like this was, it was like all the ones he’d seen in the movies growing up. It was cosy and warm with a fireplace and comfy chairs and sofas which they all quickly claimed for themselves. There was a vast selection of Ales and artisan ciders to choose from as well as the usual spirits, liqueurs and wine you would expect from any pub. He knew he’d be back in this place regularly; he already loved the feel so much. Soon everyone had their drinks and he was sat on one of the two-person sofas with Melinda, he casually flung his arm across the back of the sofa behind Melinda and was happy as she edged herself a little closer to him. The conversation was in full flow and everyone was enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, but he couldn’t help but notice Melinda was a little more quiet than normal and she seemed a little down.

He didn’t want to draw close attention to it so tapped her shoulder with his finger a couple of times and offered her a smile as she looked up. He pulled his face a little closer to her so he could speak quietly but so that she could still hear him.

“Hey – you ok?”

“I’m fine” she offered him a somewhat pathetic smile back.

“You sure? You seem sad”

Damn him. Phil could always read her like a book. “It’s Andrew” she sighed and took a sip of her wine.

“I rang him just before we left to check about dinner plans and then to talk about the ice-skating. He’s busy tomorrow so can’t make it. I know it’s silly to be annoyed because it is last minute but it just seems he’s busy more often than not and we can never do anything spontaneous anymore, it’s always has to be booked weeks in advance.”

“And he can’t change his plans for _you_?” Phil didn’t mean to make it sound as spiteful as he did. He’d never met the man and he was sure he must be wonderful for Melinda to be marrying him, but this wasn’t the first-time other things had got in the way, in fact it happened weekly and he hated seeing his friend upset about it. On the upside it meant she’d usually hang out with him instead, but she was marrying this man and any man marrying Melinda May should always make her his priority. He certainly would.

“What do you think?” she almost bit back. She didn’t mean to be snappy at Phil, he’d done nothing wrong and was clearly concerned for her. She offered him an apologetic smile and he squeezed her shoulder to let her know it was fine.

“Anyway, it means I have a spare ticket now. Did you want to come with me? Maybe after all of these years you won’t fall on your ass so much!”

“Oi! Don’t be mean” he chuckled back to her. “You know I’d love too but I think you should ask Skye. When we were discussing gifts, she said she’d never been before, so maybe you could show her how it’s done”.

“Do you really think she’d want to come with me?”

“Mels, she would love it, she thinks the world of you, you know that. You two get on great anyway so it will be fine.”

Phil was right, Skye was a good friend and she always enjoyed her company, and it would be nice to teach someone to ice skate. “You’re right, I’ll ask her. The offer is still there for you if you want to just come and hang out with us. Winter Wonderland is always a fun evening.”

“Of course – count me in.” He wasn’t going to turn down an evening with Melinda and he really did get on well with Skye so it would be nice for the three of them to hang out together outside of work. 

Melinda looked at her watch, she really should get going if she was going to make her dinner reservation. She got up and started making her way around her colleagues, thanking them for coming and again for the lovely gifts she received. She was able to ask Skye if she wanted to come with her the next evening and Skye started jumping up and down with excitement and was so happy she asked. Melinda was feeling a lot better about things now, happy at least that she could share the gift with some friends instead. She made eye contact with Phil for him to follow her outside, he excused himself and followed her out. She wanted to thank him but didn’t want to draw attention to it in front of everyone else.

As soon as they were both outside, she pulled him into a hug and gave him a tight squeeze.

“Thank you, Phil.” She said as she pulled back from him, keeping her hand on his bicep.

“What for?” He smiled back at her, his eyes were very soft, this man was always too kind and humble sometimes.

“For making today special. I know the gifts were your idea and they were just a wonderful and a lovely surprise and for all the extra little things you did for me today. You really didn’t have to; it was very sweet and I’m lucky to have you as a friend.”

“Hey, you deserve to be spoilt. I am glad you had a good day. Now hurry up or you’ll miss your fancy dinner” he teased and gentle nudged her along.

She laughed and mock saluted him. “Yes Sir!

He squeezed her hand and offered her a wink as he wished her happy birthday again and waved her off. He really would do anything to hear her laugh and see her smile and be happy. She had quickly become the most important person in his life.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had agreed to meet at Winter Wonderland. Both Melinda and Skye had worked from home during the day, he had thought this would mean he’d get a lot of work done, their big weekend conference was creeping up on them all very quickly, but instead he’d spent far too much time talking to Melinda through the instant messenger service they used. They’d spoken about some of the things they wanted to do tonight, Melinda had gone for the last 4 years and was a bit of a pro. He’d asked her about her birthday meal, which was _fine_ – and then about her birthday trip with Andrew. They were going to Berlin but again she didn’t seem keen to elaborate much and changed the subject pretty quickly. He’d jokingly told her he didn’t know what he was going to do with himself not seeing her for 4 days and she sent him a crying face emoji back agreeing with him and bemoaning the fact she wouldn’t even be able to text him while she was away. They were always a little bit more flirty speaking over IM or text but it did warm his heart to know that she was equally as sad to be separated from her best friend for a few days.

They headed straight to the ice rink after meeting up, Phil went to find a space around the side of the rink to watch while the the other 2 went to collect their skates. As they put their skates on, Melinda could tell that Skye was a little bit nervous and hesitant.

“You’ll be fine Skye, just take it slow and I will guide you. Hang onto the edge as much as you need and hang onto me if you need to when we get into the centre.”

“I don’t want to pull you down” Skye said sheepishly.

“I have good balance” Melinda replied with a smirk. “If I can drag Phil around and keep us both from falling then me and you we will be fine.”

“Yeah he said you used to teach him when you were younger.”

Melinda laughed at that. “I tried at least. That man fell over more than anyone else I ever skated with”

“He probably just wanted to hold your hand” Skye gave her a knowing look and wiggled her eyebrows at her.

Melinda huffed a laugh back. “Sounds like him, he’s always been clingy”

Phil could see them making their way onto the ice and laughing as they looked over in his direction. He smiled and gave them a dorky wave and Melinda and Skye both rolled their eyes in reply. He watched as Skye slowly made her way around the rink still clinging onto the side, he could see Mel talking her through every move and eventually she let go and moved further into the rink. He could see the beaming smile on Skye’s face as she very slowly started to move on her own. Melinda had turned so she was skating backwards, holding out her arms in case Skye needed to grip. Skye seemed to pick up the skill quickly and soon she was making her way around the rink a bit quicker, Melinda had moved to skating beside her rather than backwards and offered support when Skye got a little unsteady. They carried on round the rink a few times, waving at him every time they glided past. Skye almost fell once but Melinda was able to catch her and steady her in time, both woman seemed to be having a great time and he was enjoying seeing them so at ease.

Skye soon came to join Phil at the side of the rink, she wanted to give Melinda a chance to skate a little without having to keep an eye on her, and she was feeling a little tired anyway. She gaped in amazement at just how quickly Melinda was making her way around the rink, easily slipping in and out of the other people, her movements measured and in tune, she made everything look so easy.

Phil really could not take his eyes off her, he forgot just how much he used to enjoy watching Melinda skate. He’d sometimes go along and watch her compete or just keep her company as she trained. To him she was just so graceful and elegant as she moved and she wore such a content and warm smile that would illuminate further every time she passed him and Skye. She really was in her element. He was so distracted by Melinda that he hadn’t noticed Skye had been trying to have a conversation with him.

“Coulson, hey Coulson” Skye clicked her fingers in front of his face.

“Oh” he smiled back at the young woman. “Sorry, I was a bit distracted, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Mel skate.”

“She’s so good – I can’t believe she never told us she did this.” Now it was Skye's turn to stare a bit.

“She’s always been a private person, but I know she was really happy you agreed to join her tonight.”

They smiled at each other and could see Melinda heading towards the exit so Skye slowly skated round to join her as Phil made his way on foot. He helped them both off the ice, he was sure they didn’t need his help, but he was a gentleman after all. He helped Skye change out of her skates and took both pairs back to the hire station while they put their shoes back on.

He walked back to them and swung his arm casually around Melinda’s shoulders. “So, did you have fun?” he asked knowing full well she’d had a blast.

She wrapped her arm around his waste and looked up to give him a beautiful smile. “I did, thank you again for making this happen. It had been too long.”

His lent down and put a small kiss on the top of her head. “You’re welcome, I am glad you had fun”

“Oi come on you two” they could hear Skye shouting from about 10 metres away. “We’ve got rides to go on, games to play, food to eat and beer to drink. The night is young!”

They both laughed and caught up with their young friend ready to enjoy the rest of the evening. Skye smiled to herself as they all headed off. She had known Melinda for a few years and had never seen this side to her, never seen her so relaxed and happy. She knew Phil was a big reason for this and was glad they had found each other again and was even more glad they wanted her to share in their friendship too.


	5. Nice to meet you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil meets Andrew and comes to a realisation.

The bi-annual Shield trainers conference had arrived. The team had been stressed and on edge for the whole week. Despite planning this event for months and months, there was always so much to do in the final week. It was a huge event, over 400 volunteers travelling to a conference centre in central England from all over the country. The event was completely free to anyone attending, which meant Skye has spent the majority of her time recently booking travel, sorting room allocations, collecting dietary requirements and answering thousands of questions ensuring each delegates arrival, stay and departure ran as smoothly as possible. It was a logistical nightmare, but she had coped. Just. As the senior member of the team, Maria had overseen organising the programme, which included the key notes, guests and general sessions. She had put together a jam-packed timetable, with some fantastic and knowledgeable guests alongside her own team delivering plenty of sessions on the projects they were working on and ongoing support they constantly provided for trainers.

Phil and Melinda had got off easily when it came to the organisation of the conference as they had other work to do but had been pulled into the final week panic, stress and long work hours. Truth be told neither minded too much, although there was now a tight time pressure, it allowed for great team bonding and an ever-growing team spirit. Late nights in the office meant shared takeaways and banter as they made up delegate bags, printed hundreds of resources, and finalised where everyone would be and what they would be doing throughout the weekend. This weekend always meant long hours, so it was important to have plans in place in advance for everyone to have a break and time on their own during the day. Melinda, Maria, Fitz and Simmons would also be running 3 sessions each during the weekend, as Phil had only recently joined the team he would be more of an observer (which actually meant he would be a dogsbody running from room to room helping anyway he could) and Skye would offer support to the team and volunteers throughout.

Melinda had volunteered to drive to the venue. It was normal for work events for the team to travel by train but they always wanted to have somebody with a car there in case anything went wrong and they needed quick access to transport. It also meant the team could use her car and pack it with all the last-minute papers they had printed off as well as a few bits of equipment the conference centre didn’t provide. Truth be told, she hated long train journeys and would much rather drive herself the 3 hours in the comfort of her own car. Naturally, she had asked Phil to come and keep her company for the trip and he had been all too happy to oblige.

They had agreed to meet at Melinda’s apartment. Phil had never been there before, as they mostly hung out at his place or just in the city. He couldn’t help but notice the apartment was in a very fancy part of London in a beautiful building, he was aware that Andrew had a very well paid job and his family were very wealthy, but hadn’t realised it would be this nice. He made his way up the elevator to the 8th floor, and across the hallway to the door. He knocked only to be greeted not by Melinda but by an man he assumed was Andrew.

“Phil! Hi” Andrew said reaching out for a handshake. “Come in, come in. Melinda is just finishing packing her bags. She won’t be long.”

Phil smiled and made his way into the apartment. It was stunning. He’d walked into a huge open planned kitchen and living space, with floor to ceiling windows across the back wall providing a wonderful view of the London skyline.

“Wow! Bet you never get tired of that view.” Phil said as he walked over to the window to get a better look.

Andrew gave a little chuckle back. “Yeah, we’ve got it pretty good I think. Can I get you a drink? I’ve just made a pot of coffee. Melinda said you were a coffee drinker”

“Thank you, that would be great.”

“Super, take a seat, make yourself at home” Andrew said as he made his way back into the kitchen.

Phil took a moment study the man who had won his best friend’s heart. He was tall, dark and annoyingly handsome. He was in great physical condition with broad shoulders and had a beaming smile that lit up the room. Yeah, he could see what Melinda liked about him, they would make beautiful children, that is for sure.

“It’s great to meet you Andrew” Phil said as he accepted the mug of coffee. “Mels has told me all about you.”

“All good things I hope” he smirked back

Phil laughed at that. “Well, you know as well as I do what she’s like, but she seems fond of you.”

Andrew chuckled again at that. “Yes, quite.”

There was a somewhat awkward silence that filled the room as Andrew returned to potter around the apartment, packing his bag for work. Phil wasn’t particularly keen to engage in small talk, and he’d feel a lot more comfortable asking questions if Melinda was here too but at the same time he didn’t want to come across as rude. He internally debated what he could say, should he ask about his job? He imagined that would be a short conversation. Maybe the wedding, yes the wedding could work, that involved Melinda too so would be easier. He quickly took a glance in the direction of the hallway, assuming Melinda was down there in one of the rooms, just in case she was ready. No such luck. He took a deep breath and..

“You know” his head shot up at the sound of Andrews voice. “I need to thank you Phil.”

Phil face filled with confusion, what could he possibly want to thank him for. “For what?”

“For looking out for Melinda. I know my work schedule is tough on her and I am gone more often than I am here, but since you moved to London she has been so happy, happier than I have seen her in a long time. She always spoke about you and the fun you had growing up. She was so shocked when you turned up at Shield that day, but so excited too. It’s lovely to see a smile back on her face. She means the world to me. Who’d have thought it would take another man to bring that side of her back” He chuckled to himself.

Phil really didn’t expect that, he shook his head at his words. “She’s my best friend and I’ll always have her back. Honestly finding her again has changed my life for the better, so I guess we both have something to be thankful for. It’s nice to see her so happy.”

Andrew gave him a nod and a warm smile as he made his way into the hallway, presumingly to go and see Melinda. Phil slumped into his chair a little, he’d be lying if he said he was a fan of Andrew before meeting him, he’d not been happy with the amount of time he spent away from Melinda. But he did seem like a good man, a kind and charming man who loved and cared for Melinda. If he thought about it, he shouldn’t have expected anything else, Melinda wouldn’t fall in love and want to marry just anybody. 

For the first time he felt a little bit sad thinking about Melinda marrying someone else, maybe meeting Andrew had made it feel real. It was silly really, they were just friends, always had been. Nothing more than friends. Sure, she was smart, funny, kind, caring, beautiful, the way she smiled at him made his heart flutter and her laugh made the hairs on his neck stand up and he loved it when they hugged and the affectionate touches she’d give when she teased him and the cute way she’d roll her eyes at him when he was being a dork.

Damn.

He closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. He really needed to get a grip of himself and pull himself together before these other thoughts and emotions took over. That is not what he needed right now. 

He hadn’t realised that Andrew had reappeared until he heard the front door open. “It was great to meet you Phil” Andrew called out. “You’ll have to come over for dinner one night, we can chat more that way. Enjoy your weekend and don’t let her drink too much wine!”

Phil laughed. “Yeah we both know that’s not an easy job. Nice to meet you too, see you around.”

Andrew left and Phil thought he’d take the opportunity to actually see if he could find Mel. They weren’t in a rush to get going, they had plenty of time but he was done with sitting awkwardly in someone’s else’s house. He did however take the opportunity to nosey around the apartment a little bit, it really was stunning. He wondered why Melinda had never brought him here before, hopefully she would in the future because her kitchen was just to die for and he’d have a field day cooking in that for them. He gradually made his way down the hallway. Andrew had said Melinda was just finishing packing, but that was a while ago now.

“Mel?” He called as he stood outside of 3 closed doors. He assumed 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.

“Yeah in here.” She replied, fortunately he could tell which room she was in from where the sound came from. He opened the door to find her suitcase packed and ready to go sitting in front of the door, but she was sitting on her bed, laptop out and papers spewed across the duvet.

“What are you doing? We don’t have to work this morning you know.”

She looked up at him, eyebrows narrowed. She looked stressed and let out a huff through her nose. “My Sunday morning session, it’s stressing me out. I just want my presentation to be perfect and to be prepared for the endless questions. I feel like I’m missing something big, but I can’t see it.”

Shield volunteers, specifically their volunteer trainers were notoriously a difficult bunch to please. They were super passionate about the charity and dedicated a large amount of their free time to it. Melinda’s new project involved some major changes and she just knew they would be unhappy (they _hated_ change) and nit pick everything she said. She was usually very calm and collected but she had only just begun this project so they were still in the early stages and figuring things out. She also hated having people judge and critique her work. She was probably overthinking everything, but these types of sessions always attracted the types of volunteers who loved to moan at any decision made.

Phil sat himself in the chair next to her bed, he tapped on the table next to him for her to look at him. “Look, you’ve got this. You know your work like the back of your hand. Maria and Fury are happy with your plans. You’ll be just fine, trust me.”

Melinda let out a sigh and leaned her head back against the headboard of her bed. “You’re wrong. But I’ve got nowhere this morning so I might as well give in.” She gave him a genuine smile, but he could still see the worry in her features. They packed up the mess she made on the bed and started to pull everything together ready to the going. It didn’t take them too long as Melinda had packed most of the car already as she had got up early to head to the office for the last bits. They were just putting their luggage in the boot when Phil stopped and turned to Melinda.

“So, Andrew is nice.”

“Yeah?” Melinda’s face lit up at that.

“Yeah. We had a chat. I think you can marry him” Phil lightly bumped his hip against hers teasingly.

She rolled her eyes at that. “Well thanks _dad”_ she replied sarcastically. “I was intending to anyway, but I’m happy you like him.”

They laughed with each other as they went to settle in the car. Phil reached into his backpack and pulled out several bags of sweets and chocolates and put them in the middle of them.

“Got your favourites.” He turned and grinned at her. “Teeth and lips, milk bottles and chocolate buttons”

Melinda’s face lit up at that. “Oh Phil Coulson I do love you.”

He raised his eyebrows at that and gave her a look. “You just love when I bring you nice things.”

Melinda just laughed at him and rolled her eyes. They set off on their journey and settled into comfortable chat about the local area Melinda lived in. She pointed out a few nice restaurants and cafes that she liked to visit, all of which looked very high class to Phil. Navigating the busy roads of London wasn’t much fun. It was very stop start and Phil could tell Mel was running low on patience. It was no wonder most people in the city travelled by public transport – just like in New York, you didn’t get very far very fast in the car here. About 20 minutes later they were finally hitting the motorway and he could see Melinda visibly relax then.

They carried on with easy, casual chit chat. They have a group chat going with they team and those travelling by train had been sending them updates about their journey, sending a ridiculous number of photos. Phil had been relaying everything to Melinda and she had insisted he sent her sarcastic comments back to them. They had even taken a few pictures of themselves on their road trip to send the team. Phil had also sneaked a few of Melinda looking super serious driving which she would absolutely kill him for later when she read the messages. Phil discovered that Mel had a secret soft spot for Disney music, as she loudly sang along to her favourites from the album _NOW That’s what they call Disney._ Her face lit up at every song as she sat next to him grinning like a 5-year-old. She then couldn’t stop the hysterics as Phil proceded to know every word to ‘ _you’re welcome’_ from _Moana._ Putting on his best Dwayne Johnson voice as he serenaded her. Phil couldn’t help feel a flutter in his heart every time she laughed and looked at him with such joy. It was certainly worth the embarrassment at his attempts to sing.

They were interrupted during their sing along by a phone call from Skye, the rest of the team had reached the conference centre and they were giving them instructions about where to park and where to go when they got there. Phil put her on loudspeaker, and they ended up just chatting together for a while with the rest of the team enjoying their observations as they had arrived to a ton of things not yet ready. Phil and Melinda were once again happy to be arriving a little later, missing most of the drama.

They soon fell into a comfortable silence and Melinda contemplated whether it was the right time to ask the question that has been on her mind since Phil had walked back into her life.

“So” she started and could see Phil look up from his phone towards her. “Are you ready to talk about what made you move halfway across the world?”

She turned for a moment to offer him a smile, and she could see him tense up at her question. She’d briefly tried to have this conversation back when Phil first started at Shield but he clearly wasn’t ready then. It had been a few months since then, so she hoped he felt in a better place to open up a little bit. After all they had gotten really close as friends again and she wanted to be there for him and offer any support he needed, she could tell whatever he would say would be emotional for him, as he was usually someone who shared everything.

“Yeah, right, ok. Where to begin” he offered her a sad smile as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Only if you’re ok, we can wait if you want.”

“No it’s ok. It might be nice to talk about it all. I’ve probably bottled it up for too long.”

Melinda reached over and gave his hand a small squeeze, his eyes found hers and he nodded his head.

“So, it was kind of a series of things really. My Mom got sick, and she was all alone and she didn’t really have anyone to care for her, and she really did need to have someone there with her. I was still living in New York at the time, I’d never left after college, so I made the decision to move back home to be with Mom. It was an easy choice; I’d never forgive myself if I wasn’t with her. I quit my job, found one back home and moved within a month.”

He took a deep breath and shook his head. Melinda didn’t say anything, she knew the silence would urge him to continue.

“I had a girlfriend at the time, Audrey, we’d been together for almost 4 years. I loved her, I wanted to marry her, but it had never been the right time to ask. She understood but wasn’t exactly happy that I moved back to care for Mom, we promised to make it work, that we could do long distance for a while, but she broke up with me about 6 months later. I guess her heart just wasn’t in it anymore.” He looked at her and shrugged. Her heart broke for Phil. How could this woman just leave him when all he was doing with looking after his sick Mom.

“Mom didn’t get better Mel, I was with her till the end but she passed. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through; I will always be thankful I was there and that I could say goodbye. But, it was, yeah. I’m still not sure I can speak much about it.”

She instantly reached for his hand and held it tight. She loved Julie Coulson, she was a warm, vibrant woman who was always so welcoming to her, she’d spent many hours laughing and joking with Phils Mom. To know she was no longer here, to know how much pain Phil had been through, to know he was alone when it all happened. It broke her heart. She should have been there for him. She could feel the tears in her eyes as she turned and faced Phil, who gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand back, his eyes filled with tears too. She couldn’t quite form any words and had a feeling Phil still hadn’t told her everything.

“I was alone, I’d lost Mom and I’d lost Audrey, and all my friends were in New York and I was mourning and just going through the motions of life. A few months later I was in a car accident. A serious car accident. I don’t really remember what happened, but I know I almost died, I flatlined a few times in hospital, had a lot of internal injuries and a couple of surgeries to try and fix everything, they went as well as they could. I spent weeks in the hospital and months in rehab.”

He turned to her a left out a little laugh, she looked at him confused. “Do you know what’s funny, after all that, all that I’d been through I never once heard from Audrey. I think I held some ill-judged hope that we would get back together, but I guess I got a lucky escape there. It was then I made the decision to sell Moms house and move out here, start again and well, here we are.”

Suddenly he was aware of the fact the car had stopped, they were no longer on the motorway but instead the only car at the back of a long car park, away from anyone else in what looked like a service station. He watched as Melinda gracefully got out of the car and made her way around the car, opening his door and reaching out for his hand. He unbuckled his belt and dutifully accepted her invitation. As soon as he stepped out of the car her was engulfed in a warm embrace, Melinda squeezing him so tightly.

“Oh Phil, I’m so sorry” she whispered into his chest. He held her tightly, his head resting on hers. He couldn’t hold his emotions in any longer, his body began to shake as tears flooded from his eyes and he just sobbed into her hair. He’d held these emotions back for so long but he just couldn’t anymore, he didn’t want to anymore.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, let it out” Melinda hushed as she rubbed her hands up and down his back. She was crying too but doing all she could to comfort Phil, to be there for him, to let him know he wasn’t alone anymore. They didn’t know how long they had been standing there but Phil soon started to loosen his grip and his sobs turned to sniffles. Melinda let go from the hug but grabbed Phils hand and interlinked their fingers and lead him to the bench that was behind her car. As they sat down, she gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’m sorry to hear about your Mom, she was a wonderful person and I’ve got lots of fond memories of her. I’m glad you could be there with her; I know that would have meant everything to her.”

“Thanks– I don’t think I’ll ever come to terms with not seeing her again, but I know she would have been happy I found you again, she always loved you.” He laughed a little and looked to the ground. “She always thought we’d get married you know.”

Melinda gave a small laugh back at that. “Yeah, she told me that a few times too. Something about me being able to put up with all your nerdiness so patiently and listening to your ramblings. She always said you needed someone who allowed you to be you.”

Phil rolled his eyes at that. “Mom always used to tease me about that – but I always knew she cared.”

Melinda looked at him with such warmth in her eyes. “She loved you very much, she was very proud of you, she’d still be very proud of you.”

Phils eyes filled with water again as he smiled back.

“It was my intention to try and find you again after I moved, I wanted to settle into a home and a job for a bit and then try and find someway to reach out. And then you were just there – right in front of me. I guess I did deserve a little bit of luck.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all of this straight away? I could have helped you more, supported you.”

Phil glanced at her and raised his eyebrow. “Mels I’m not sure there was anyway for you to be more supportive. You’ve been amazing. Plus I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me or feel it was your duty to be my friend again because I was so broken. I know you’re not that type of person but you know I just wanted it to be real I guess.”

“Phil..”

“I was just sick of the sympathetic stares and well wishes and people looking at me and treating me like I was broken. I didn’t want to be Phil Coulson the guy who lost his mom, girlfriend and almost his life. I just wanted to be Phil. With you I’m just your friend Phil, at work I’m just Phil and honestly it’s what I need right now,”

Melinda gave him a sympathetic nod at this. She understood what he meant and why he didn’t tell her before, but she was glad he felt he could open up now.

“You know, you wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at you that you almost died.”

Phil eyebrows raised as he smirked at her. “You saying I look good Mel?”

“You scrub up OK for a man they had to bring back from the brink.” She smirked back

“Ever the charmer, Melinda May. Honestly you wouldn’t say that if you saw my scars. Surgery fixed a lot, but they are pretty hideous.”

“But you’re better now right?”

He gave her a soft smile and reached for her hands and took them in his. “I’m getting better. Having you in my life again helps, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll always have me Phil.”

“Come on, we should get going, the rest will be wondering where we are. Thanks again Mel, for listening and for caring.”

They decided to go via the service station shops and pick up a couple of drinks before they joined the road again. Melinda never expected a road trip to a work conference could be this emotional, but she was glad she could be there to help and support Phil. She was struggling to picture her life without him now, he’d become that important to her and if she was completely honest, she couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never intended this chapter to be this long before actually getting to the conference, but it just felt right.  
> Thank you as ever for all the support.


End file.
